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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Shares of ContiFinancial Corp. fell 24 percent Monday after the company said first-quarter earnings will fall below Wall Street analysts' estimates.

ContiFinancial (CFN)
CFN, +2.91%
said it expects to report first-quarter earnings of approximately $11 million or 23 cents a share, excluding a charge. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were expecting 65 cents a share. The company earned $27 million or 59 cents a share in the year-ago period.

ContiFinancial shares closed down 6 to 19 1/4.

The company blamed consumers who have paid off high-interest rate mortgages faster than expected for much of the shortfall.

ContiFinancial also said it will incur an $8 million pretax charge in the quarter due to yield maintenance agreements from certain "interest only" securities sold.

"This quarter's earnings are a disappointment, approximately 45 cents below our previous expectations," James E. Moore, ContiFinancial president and chief executive said in a statement. "We remain comfortable regarding our prospects for the rest of the year...The June quarter was the best production quarter in the company's history."

Moore said the company has generated $2.1 billion in home equity loans during the quarter, and $700 million in commercial mortgages.

ContiFinancial is a consumer and commercial finance company and through its ContiMortgage Corp. and other subsidiaries provides home equity loans to high-risk borrowers.

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